Two staff, two patients at B.C. care home part of latest COVID outbreak

Two long-term care residents and another two staff at Willow Manor have tested positive for COVID, according to Chartwell Retirement Residences.

In announcing Monday that there are 29 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C., provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed at an outbreak within the Maple Ridge senior care centre.

Chartwell communications vice-president Sharon Ranalli has since offered more detail, confirming the number of cases in the facility.

“We remain vigilant in our efforts to manage these outbreaks and thank our staff, residents, and family members for their compliance and support of our efforts,” she said.

“We continue to follow infection control protocols, enhanced resident monitoring including temperature and symptom checks, active screening of staff, isolation strategies in the full building including long-term care staff using a separate entrance and the use of PPE,” Ranalli elaborated.

This outbreak brings the total to 20 long-term care and assisted living facilities in the province impacted, said Henry, who also announcing five more deaths in B.C. during the past day.

“There has been one new outbreak at the Chartwell Willow [Retirement Community] long-term care facility in the last day,” she said at Monday’s press briefing. She noted that, in addition to mentioning the outbreak announced last week in an acute care unit at Ridge Meadows Hospital.

According to Fraser Health’s COVID alert website, this local seniors complex, better known as Willow Manor, was the latest to report an outbreak on April 18. It’s noted on the website, that once an outbreak is over, the facility is removed from the list.

The 224th Street seniors complex offers various levels of care from independent living to assisted living and memory care for those living with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Willow Manor is the third Chartwell location in B.C. are in outbreak.

Most of the outbreaks have bene found in long-term care facilities and are hitting people who are critically ill, as well as health-care workers, whose important responsibility it is to care for everyone.

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But efforts are also now afoot through testing to help quickly identify and address any new community clusters and outbreaks that may emerge.

“We want to avoid another spike in new cases and continue to flatten our curve,” Henry said.

“We remind everyone that while testing is now broadly available, not everyone needs a test. If you have no symptoms, the test has limited benefit,” she added.

“We are not through the storm. We must remain vigilant to protect loved ones, elders and all of our communities. We will continue to take a slow and thoughtful approach, learning from other jurisdictions that are farther along, while staying alert to changes here in B.C.

“We can only introduce modifications to the orders we have in place with further improvement and with all us remaining 100 per cent committed. Let’s stay strong.”

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